Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is set to join a consulting firm headed by former US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser. This comes after Morrison announced on Tuesday that he intends to leave politics and enter the private sector. Morrison is joining American Global Strategies LLC as non-executive Vice Chairman.
In a statement, Robert O’Brien, who served as Donald Trump’s hostage affairs envoy and then top national security advisor said, “Prime Minister Scott Morrison is widely regarded as one of the most consequential world leaders of the last decade, presiding over unprecedented changes to Australia’s foreign and defense policies. As American Global Strategies’ non-Executive Vice Chairman, Prime Minister Morrison will bring high-level relationships and unique geopolitical insights to our clients.”
Meanwhile, Morrison said that he is “looking forward to working once again with Ambassador O’Brien and the whole AGS team, especially here in the Indo-Pacific. Robert and I enjoyed a great working relationship when I was Prime Minister. Together we can draw on our combined networks and experience in the region to help clients navigate a highly dynamic geopolitical landscape that presents risks and opportunities.”
In addition to defence and security space, Morrison asserted that supply chains, technological change, resource security, energy transition, and new sorts of partnerships between the private and public sectors are all affected by the world becoming an increasingly more complicated place.
American Global Strategies comprises several former White House and government officials. Morrison’s hiring comes as the former US president Trump is widely expected to win the Republican nominee in the 2024 US election, as he aims at a comeback to the White House.
Notably, Morrison served as Australia’s Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022. In 2022, his Liberal-National alliance was defeated by the Labour Party, and Anthony Albanese became the Prime Minister.
During the course of his tenure, Morrison worked to foster the Quad alliance, which strengthened ties with India, Japan, and the United States. During his time as prime minister, he was seen as shifting Australia’s focus away from China, as evidenced by the Aukus nuclear submarine agreement with the US and the UK.
Reports say that Scott Morrison’s domestic popularity plummeted following a series of issues surrounding his handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, including disclosures that he covertly swore himself into various ministries at the prime of the epidemic. When it came to light, members of his own party began calling for his resignation from parliament.
On Tuesday, Morrison wrote an emotional note on Instagram hinting at his post-politics career. “Just letting you know (especially everyone locally) that after more than 16 years as the Member for Cook, I have decided to leave parliament at the end of February to take on new challenges in the global corporate sector and spend more time with my family,” Morrison wrote.
Notably, Scott Morrison was elected to the House of Representatives in 2007 after winning preselection for the Cook seat. He was named Minister of Immigration and Border Protection in 2013, and then Minister of Social Services in 2014 and 2015. Morrison was treasurer for almost three years, from 2015 to 2018, before taking over as prime minister.